Freshwater

Water for Nature, Water for People

Canada has one fifth of the world’s freshwater. We’re home to thousands of lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands. They provide us with water to drink, to grow our food, to power our homes and to sustain our environment. This freshwater wealth is a huge global endowment that requires responsible stewardship. Healthy waters matter – for nature and for people.

We’re incredibly fortunate to have this abundance of water, but we need to protect it. Demands on our water are rapidly increasing. A changing climate, energy needs and global demands for resources are among these growing pressures. To build resilient environments, communities and economies for the future, we need to ensure there is enough healthy water flowing in our lakes and rivers for nature’s needs.

We’re working with a wide range of partners to assess the health of, and threats to, all lakes, streams and rivers across Canada – gathering data that will help us find the solutions for water health, now and into the future.

From coast to coast to coast – WWF is bringing this knowledge to waterways across the country. In British Columbia, we’re working to help protect the wild, free-flowing Skeena River from its source to the sea. On Canada’s East Coast, WWF is helping support a community dialogue to shape a vision for the future of New Brunswick’s St. John River. And on the iconic St. Lawrence River - which feeds one of the largest systems of waterways in the world - we’re at the table with stakeholders supporting a plan to return water levels to more natural levels and restore resilient ecosystems.

WWF is also working with and supporting the efforts of water stewards across the country, who are protecting and restoring their local lakes, streams and rivers. We engage communities in dialogues to shape a vision to protect their waters and help recommend the right laws, rules and citizen action needed to protect a healthy water future.